All I want for Christmas is you
by itsmeganonthemoon
Summary: christmassy percico, some funny scenes, some really sad ones. enjoy...or don't it's really your opinion. speaking of your opinion, i'd love to hear it in the form of a review. also, follow me on tumblr with the same name. rated T just in case. Started before BoO and i kept my version of the context.
1. 1 What's Wrong with Annabeth?

"Hey, Nico." I say, trying to be as friendly as possible to the son of Hades on the way to te canteen of Camp Half-Blood.

I never really _get _Nico. I try to be friends with him all the time, but to no avail, Nico just seems to hate me. Nico scowls in response, as he always does.

"What _is it _with Nico?" I ask Jason, who just tries to hide a smile and replies with, "I dont know."

It's mid-december and all the christmas decorations are up. The Greek half of the seven had all decided to stay at camp year-round because after going to the medeteranian, monsters would attack us much more in the mortal world. Jason had decided to stay at camp half-blood rather than going to camp jupiter for Piper, besides, he'd given the role of praetor to Frank at the House of Hades so he's not needed there anyway.

Jason and Nico and I enter the canteen just as Piper starts telling everyone about the Christmas party she'll be having at her house.

"oh, hi Jason, Percy, Nico" she says, "Good timing, I'm just about to tell everyone about the party"

She explains that the party will be happening at 8:00 pm on the 23rd December, so that everyone can see their own families on Christmas Day etc. The dress code will be smart-casual (like you might wear at the theatre). Her dad won't be there so everyone is allowed to drink, regardless of age (which annabeth said was a stupid idea because it's illegal, but we all told her to shut up).

"this is a stupid idea, percy, you're not actually going through with this are you?" annabeth exclaims.

"actually, i think this'll be fun"

"i can't believe you! You think everything's fun, i bet you thought tartarus ws fun, too!"

"what?-annabeth-i-"

"i've had it with you, percy!" she says, exsasperated, "goodbye, and no we cannot still be friends!" she promptly storms out the room, leaving everyone in a stunned, confused silence-especialy me.

"what was that all about?" leo is the first to speak, his arm wrapped around calypso's waist. They've been like that since leo saved her, and, to be honest, it's quite awkward with me around, since i once went to calypso's island and had wanted to stay. I once said she'd always be my biggest _what if? _But now i know the answer: if i'd stayed with calypso, leo would never have met her.

"actually, i think i know," calypso speaks for the first time, "im sorry, percy, you won't like this," she says, holding the room in suspence, "it's...um...it's...well...she's been...cheating on you."

"WHAT!?" i exclaim and follow annabeth outside, calypso tagging close behind.

"you have to admit, for a girl who's been deserted on an island alone for two milennia, and the daughter of a titan; that girl has amazing people skills!" i hear from the other side of the door before leo follows his girlfriend outside.

"percy!" i hear annabeth's voice from the other side of long island sound. It's past curfew and im drinking a coke one of my friends from hermes stole for me.

"i thought you said we coldn't be friends." I say when annabeth comes near enough to hear my choked-from-crying-voice. My eyes are filled with tears, but they're not yet falling down my face.

"i'm really, really sorry about earlier," she sits down next to me, her hand grabbing at mine out of habbit, but quickly flicking away as soon at it makes contact. "i just sort of...burst."

"look, if there's something you wanted to say, sayit. Or leave." I say, taking another sip of my coke.

"actually, there is..." she says, "i've been...i've been seeing someone else."

I get up and start walking towards the water, but she grabs my hand before i can go anywhere, but i tear it free and don'twalk, but don't face her either.

"percy, just hear me out okay?" she takes a deep breath, "im sorry i never told you before, but im...im gay. I've been fighting it, and if there's anyone who could've turned me..percy...it would've been you. However, i... i just can't keep up this pretence. At first, i did love you...on the argo II, that was real. But percy it was just a phase...and every little girl has...has to grow up." I start running to the water, my tears a waterfall down my face, but just as i get to knee depth, i turn around.

"Annabeth!" i shout, "who was it?"

"it...it was reyna!" i choke up as i submerge and don't even try to breathe, i figure my dad must be helping me, but right now, all i want is to drown.


	2. 2 Jason

I sit bolt upright in bed, covered in sweat.

I don't remember what happened in the dream, or what it was about, but I think it had something to do with Annabeth. All my dreams do.

It's been four days since Annabeth told me the truth, and it's been killing me. I've spent a lot of time in the arena, doing sword practice, as I always use that time to relieve some stress.

Nico's been helping me. He gets me up in the morning. He gets me a meal if I miss it. He basically helps me through the day. I keep asking him why he does it, but he looks at Jason and says it doesn't matter. Scratch what I said before, I _really _don't get Nico.

I get changed in a hurry and leave the room. Only a few campers are awake because it's so early, but I can see Jason talking to Piper outside the Aphrodite cabin, so I walk over to them.

"Hi, Percy." Piper says as I get near enough to talk to them.

"Hi. Jason, can I have a word?"

"Yeah, sure." We walk in the direction of the canteen to get breakfast.

"Why is Nico doing all this for me?" I say as we get out of Piper's earshot.

"And back again." He says, turning around hastily.

"Jason!" I grab his shoulder and block him.

"dude, he'll tell you in his own time!"

"he'll never tell me, that's why I'm asking."

"my lips are sealed, sorry bro."

"so you do know?" I mutter to myself, "hey, Piper!" she'd been standing outside the Aphrodite cabin, studying her dagger as she waited for Jason. I signal for her to come over and she does.

"yeah, what?"

"can you still use charmspeak."

"yes, but I don't like to, it's unethical."

"yes, very unethical. Not to be used under any circumstances." Jason trys to break free of my grasp, but I'm quite strong considering I've done nothing but cry for the past four days.

"jason's been keeping a secret. From you, from me, from all of us."

"jason? You said you told me eveything." Piper looks hurt and I feel a stab of guilt, but it goes away just as quickly.

"it's not really my secret to t-"

"_jason, what's this secret you've been keeping?" _Piper says in her charmspeak voice.

"it's Nico's secret." He says, shaking his head struggling to keep his mouth shut, "cupid, croatia, can't tell, mustn't tell-"

"_Jason, what's Nico's secret?" _

"can't tell, pain of death- _hehasagaycrushonpercy" _at which point, he slaps his mouth so hard it leaves a mark. I loosen my grip on Jason and see Nico walking down the steps from the canteen, a tray with my breakfast in his hands.

I run to him. I decide I won't tell him I know, not just for jason's sake (he's the son of Zeus, I think he can handle himself) but also to see if it makes more sense. Plus, it was my fault and I figure is he found out I knew, he'd probably turn the camp into a crater full of rubble and fried strawberies.

"hi, Nico"

"Percy, what are you doing up?"

"Nico, im fine, you don't have to look after me anymore."

"okay, are you sure?"

"yes, I'm sure." I can't believe how friendly he's being, "and Nico, why were you helping m in the first place?"

"you're my friend, Percy, does there have to be a reason?"

"I guess not," I take the breakfast with a "thank you" and walk down the hill, smiling. _I finally get it._

I throw some of my food into the fire for Aphrodite. She said she'd make my love life more interesting. I thought she'd finished, but she's only just begun.


	3. 3 Outfits

**a/n I had a bit of writer's block when i was writing this, especially the beginning, so I'm sorry if it's absolute rubbish, but here you go!**

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><p>Three days later; it's the 22nd of December - the day before the party. In these three days, I've been doing regular camp activities: sword play, lava climbing wall, you know, things you get in any camp. I still have the nightmares, just not as bad, and for some reason my thoughts keep returning to Nico. Or more specifically, what Jason had told me about Nico.<p>

I don't have a crush on him or anything (I mean, pffft, that would be weird) but I just... keep thinking about him, you know?

Also, hazel and frank have said they'll be coming to Piper's party too, but Annabeth and Reyna won't. So the list is: me, Piper, Jason, Nico, Hazel, Frank, Leo, Calypso, Rachel, Will, Drew, Connor, Travis, Clarisse, Thalia (as well as a few of the hunters) and a few other campers. Grover can't come because he's still telling nature spirits and satyrs about Pan and Tyson is busy in the forges, so he's only allowed out on Christmas day.

Anyway, back to the present (the Christmas present if you will- gods that's a terrible joke) right now I'm walking to the canteen for lunch. I wave to Jason at the Zeus table, also sibling-less. I hate this system, why can't we just sit where we want?

Lunch is always the Mediterranean diet; olives, Palma ham, feta cheese and the like. I scrape a portion of my food into the fire for Poseidon and sit to eat alone at my cabin's table.

After lunch, Leo, Calypso and I head down the stairs back to the cabins together. Ever since Leo rescued her from Ogygia, they seem practically joined at the hip.

"What are you wearing to Piper's party?" Calypso asks me. She and Leo already have their outfits planned out, so they match. She'll wear the Greek style dress she wore when they first met and Leo will wear one of his cleaner shirts with braces and dark trousers like his usual smart style would be if he didn't get everything mucky.

"I'm not sure yet. I'll probably just throw something on last minute, knowing me," _and because I don't have anyone to go with, we won't need to plan outfits._

"Okay." Leo says as we part ways at the bottom of the steps.

"You can't do that!" Piper complains after asking me the same question Calypso did.

"Why not?" I ask.

"Because-you just can't! What clothes do you have? Show me. I'll pick you out an outfit for tomorrow."

"Fine." I get all of my not-dirty-or-ripped-to-shreds-by-monsters clothes and stuff them into a carrier bag.

"here." I drop the bag by piper's feet.

"That's _it_?" she starts rummaging through the bag and sorting out its contents into "yes", "no" and "not if Gaia had won the war" piles. She picks out a tie-dyed PE shirt, "WHAT is this?"

I start laughing hysterically. "That's the shirt I wore in PE in 7th grade."

"You _wore_ it?"

"Yeah, for a whole year's worth of PE. I didn't realise I still had it." She flings t onto the "NiGhWtW" pile and continues through the clothes.

In the end, more than half of my clothes are in the "NiGhWtW" pile and just one pair of black jeans are in the "yes" pile. She tells me to get changed as she negotiates the "maybe" pile.

When I come back, she's already put the "NiGhWtW" pile back in the bag and assorted the "maybe" pile into shirts, jackets and accessories. It's strange; Piper never used to like fashion and stuff like that, but it seems to be a distraction from the thoughts of the war. She'd seen Octavian get stabbed in the throat, however much of an idiot he was; it had to scar a person to watch someone choke on their own blood like that.

She holds up a light turquoise top and a smart black hoodie. How can a hoodie be smart? I hear you ask. It just is. Trust me.

"It' alright, you can change in here. I won't look." She says and I change my camp half-blood t-shirt to the turquoise one and pull the hoodie over the top.

"Wow, I like it. It compliments your eyes."

"Um, I'm not sure Jason would like to hear you say that."

"Whatever, he's more obsessed with you and Nico to bother with me anymore. He calls it Percico or something."

_Percico. _I run it through my mind. Grover had called me and Annabeth "Percabeth". Percico sounds way better. What am I _saying?_ I'm not gay...am I?


	4. 4 Waiting

"Denial's not just a river in Egypt, Percy." Jason has been talking to me all day about Nico. He's convinced I like him back, but I don't...honest.

"Jason, I'm not in denial." I make a quick response.

"So you _do_ like him back?"

"No."

"Then you're denying it."

"Yeah, but that doesn't make me _in denial._"

"Sure it doesn't."

"It doesn't."

"I'm not arguing." Today is the 23rd of December, the day of the party. The girls are taking hours to do each other's hair and make-up and sorting out their outfits so me and Jason decided to hang out in my cabin for a while. The trouble is, conversation keeps returning to Nico...and Jason is really annoying.

"Jason, you do realise I'm straight, right?"

"Percy, I really don't care what sexuality you are, as long as you go out with Nico."

After a long pause, I say, "how come it takes girls so long to get ready?"

"Don't go changing the subject, we're talking about Nico."

"I know they have like, loads of things to do-"

"You have to go with someone, Percy, or it'll just be boring."

"But, like, the dress code's smart casual, there can't be that much-"

"Percy, I'm being serious."

"You are not!"

"When have I not been serious to you?"

"Like...now, for instance." I stand up, "I'm leaving."

"To see your boyfriend?" he wiggles his eyebrows.

"No, shut up." I storm out the door and it slams behind me. I am actually trying to find Nico, to tell him the truth, when I slam into Leo.

"sorry." I mutter automatically.

"Percy. Are you okay?"

"It's nothing, it's just Jason being annoying."

"Oh, what was he doing?"

"Um...just general annoyingness."

"What was he doing?"

"It's kind of a long story..." I let the sentence hang in the air.

"I have time."

I explain to him everything, making sure to tell him not to tell Nico that I know and that it was piper and I who made Jason tell us, it wasn't his own choice.

"I knew it!" he says when I finish.

"You did not."

"I did too, I have an excellent mind."

"In your dreams, Leo."

"Yeah, I predict stuff in my dreams."

"All demi-gods do that, not just you."

"Yeah well I predicted that." I realise I'm being a bit rude by arguing so I decide to change the subject.

"is Calypso with the girls?"

"yeah."

"they're taking a really long time to get ready, it's..." I check my shield watch that Tyson gave me, "6 o'clock already."

"that makes... 3 hours of getting ready and another 2 to go. What are they _doing _in there?"


	5. 5 Nico

**A/N here's the next chapter and the reason i wrote this whole fanfiction. I really hope you like it because it took a lot of work. Review as always and enjoy.**

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><p>The horn to the strawberry van beeps loudly as Argus waits to drive us to piper's dad's house. Despite the fact that it's a Christmas party and everything's meant to be fun and all, we still don't want to die (what a mood killer that would be) so we got Argus, our eye-covered camp guard, to drive us there.<p>

The girls turned out to look really nice, actually, and Nico already shadow-travelled Hazel and Frank here so everyone will be arriving together. Piper's wearing a blue jumper dress with leggings, a gold necklace and a bulky gold belt. Her hair's down with feathers braided into it, like normal, but unlike normal; a strand of hair has been thread braided with blue and gold thread.

Hazel's outfit, however, involves a posh pair of jeans and silver slip-on ballet shoes. Her jumper is purple and silver striped and her hair is thread braided, too, this time with purple and silver, and hangs on her shoulders in neat waves.

Calypso is wearing the outfit she planned with Leo and has white and gold thread braided into her hair, which is tied at her side with gold hair rings.

The other boys in the seven are also wearing the outfits they planned with their respective girlfriends. I can't help but feel like Annabeth should be here, but I shake it off. I'm not thinking about her tonight.

We break into three groups for the vans; I end up with Nico, Jason and piper, as well as a few others who are involved in their own conversation.

"Well, what a coincidence!" Jason exclaims when we set off, receiving a confused look from Nico, an appalled look from piper and an angry glare from me. "...that all of us would be in the same van together."

"Yeah, right, Jason." I say with fake scorn.

"What I am just pointing out the simple fact that we are all sitting by each other in the back of this van with a harpy and 6 other people." I roll my eyes and turn toward Nico.

"So, Nico, no date either?"He blushes bright red and looks to his fidgeting hands.

"No." He says.

"Maybe we could go together, then?" His head flicks up and he widens his eyes at me.

"What?"

"I mean platonically, obviously." I smile at him.

"If it's all the same to you I'd rather go alone."

"Okay. I was just asking...I mean...I don't really mind." I look over to Jason and piper who weren't talking between themselves as I thought; they were avidly listening on our conversation. Now they're watching us with anticipation and not an ounce of guilt.

"Nico, what the hell?" Jason is the first to speak, gaining an appalled look from the three of us, each trying to keep our own or each other's secrets secret.

The van stops before we can continue the conversation any further and the harpy that was driving it opens her door. The next thing I hear is the scraping noise of metal on metal of the back door opening and the van's passengers scrambling out.

I whistle. Piper's house is posh from the outside, sure. But on the inside...there are no words. Me being brought up poor and all, this is just amazing. It's not even that big.

It kind of reminds me of Tony Stark's house in iron man, his house is about as posh as piper's and probably about as expensive. Okay maybe not _that _posh but still...very posh. Instead of paintings and technical stuff lining them, the walls are lined with film posters and awards. Specifically the ones with piper's dad's name or picture on them. The word egomaniac comes to mind.

"Snacks are this way." Piper says, of course being followed by the whole group. We all walk into a big room with windows lining the left wall and snack tables lining the rest. "Rules." She says, making tallies on her fingers "no fights, except monsters, no breaking stuff or you'll have to pay for the replacement and no going upstairs. Have fun!" she smiles and walks over to an amp with her iPod attached to it. She turns on a Christmassy song I don't recognise.

I've never been to a party before, even a kid's one, but I'm pretty sure it's not meant to happen like this. It's kind of an anticlimax to be honest. I guess it's because we all arrived at the same time.

Everyone immediately crashes the snack tables, all wanting to get some alcohol of some sort. I grab as much blue food as possible and awkwardly stand at the side of the room.

The next half hour or so is spent mingling. I decide to stay sober so I don't say anything embarrassing. Besides, I have a few secrets to keep and I really don't want disaster to strike.

Nico, though, seems to be having a lot to drink. Maybe I should go to tell him to stop. No. Maybe he's just...making the most of the moment. Yeah, that must be it.

The current song ends and _All I want for Christmas is you _by _Mariah Carey _comes on. I can see Nico singing the words from across the room.

Wait.

He isn't.

He _is_.

He's singing it to me!

Well, I say singing but the harmony he's making is less like Mariah Carey and more like a cat being strangled while being rubbed against a cheese grater.

Oh gods, everyone is watching intently while he crosses the room to me. They're all either whispering among themselves, hiding a laugh (well, that's just Jason), or just staring.

Then it hits me.

They're all waiting for my reaction.

What do I do?

If I laugh, it would hurt Nico's feelings, not to mention my morality. He would have every right to be scared to come out if he was ridiculed for it. But what else is there to do? I can't look embarrassed or confused. I can't be flattered (I am, but, I'd never be taken seriously, that's a girls thing). I can't run away. So what to do?

Oh.

I know what I have to do.

I take a deep breath.

I step forward.

I stand in front of Nico.

Everyone else in the room goes silent.

As the final note of the song sounds, I pull Nico's mouth to mine.

His kiss is...different to annabeth's. Not only does it taste of alcohol, Annabeth never drank, but it's sloppier. Of course. His first kiss and he's not sober enough to remember it. Not to mention the fact that kissing a guy is obviously different to kissing a girl. The jaw-line, the height, the technique - all different. All unfamiliar. All amazing.

Electricity buzzes through me as I gently pull away. Maybe he will remember it.

Piper had been considerate enough to turn off the music when we had started kissing. Th room is in complete silence. You could literally hear a pin drop.

Then Jason starts applauding. Others follow his lead and before I know it the whole room is erupting.

Then it happens.

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><p><strong>dum dum duuuum...<strong>

**sorry but it's gonna be a week until i post again probably because i'm going on a school trip to France and Belgium**

**but if you follow me on tumblr (same name) you probably know someone's gonna die next chapter**

**see you next week!**


	6. 6 The Chimera

**A/N sorry, a day late. I hope i held enough suspense. Please review.**

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><p>The room explodes in shards of glass and fire and I instinctively throw Nico to the ground and protect him with my body, I then cover my own eyes with my arms to shield them from the glass. I feel a burning prickle run up my back and an equally intense prickle in my stomach, only the latter is algedonic. I just kissed this boy and now I'm protecting him with my own body. <em>I just kissed this <em>_**boy **__and now I'm protecting him with my own body._

I stand up painfully and grab riptide from my pocket. Uncapping it, I run toward the monster which is attacking us. It's a...well I don't know what it is. Annabeth would know. I shake my head to clear my thoughts, I can't think of her in battle, especially now that I've moved on.

It has the body of a lion, with a lion's head in the usual place, but not in the usual place, namely the middle of its back, is a goat's head spraying fire. Where its tail would normally be, there is a massive snake, spewing out venom and lashing viciously, threatening to inject anyone in its path with it.

Only Hazel, Will and I have brought our weapons so Piper and Jason are leading everyone else out of the room. It won't help us if even more people get injured. We all stand at the far wall, trying to make the most of the few seconds before it realises we're here.

"A chimera" I whisper to myself more than anyone else. "Long time no see."

"In its myth wasn't it shot by an arrow?" Will says, "I need higher ground to shoot from, it's too tall. Should I climb the chandelier then? Can someone give me a leg up?"

"I can do better than that!" Hazel replies and brings her fingers to her lips, smiling, a sharp, high-pitched sound is released and I hear he clip-clop, clip-clop of galloping hooves quickly progressing in our direction. Next, Hazel reached to the ground and produces a lump of gold, holding it out at the exact moment Arion reaches us. "You know what to do."

"Defend me?" he asks.

"sure." Hazel replies as they both mount her horse and start to gallop around the circumference of the walls, tilting to their sides as they gradually make their way to the centre.

The chimera has now noticed me and is walking towards us, threatening me with its heads and spewing warning shots of fire and poison, the lion head roars like the MGM lion, which I take as a cue to start distracting it while Will tries to get a good angle.

Will gets his bow out and prepares an arrow to fire. While distracting the chimera, I see him takes aim and, at just the right moment, from behind the monster, he releases an arrow. It clears the space between them and passes through all three heads in a split second. I dive out of the way just as it passes through its glabella.

As it disintegrates, it falls to the ground, leaving behind a snake fang like in _harry potter and the chamber of secrets, _which I run to and pocket it. I'll give it to Will later; after all, he was the one who killed it.

"Hazel!" I hear will shout. With dread, I sprint in her direction.

_Oh gods. _What I see is worse than I'd ever expected.

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><p><strong>AN I'm so torturing you guys, but don't worry, the next chapter will be up much sooner.**


	7. 7 Hazel

**A/N sorry this is so short and that i took so long to post it despite saying i'd post it soon but yeah sorry please review!**

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><p>"Her side's been bitten," Will says, "it might be poisoned, we have to get her to camp."<p>

We feed her some ambrosia and nectar (and I have a bit myself) and are about to put her into one of the vans when Nico says, "I'll shadow travel her, it'll be way quicker." We agree and hope he'll be sober enough to get her to the right place.

The rest of us get into the vans and sit in an uncomfortable silence, all anticipating the worse for Hazel. No one is joking on the way back. No witty conversations. Only silence.

As soon as the van stops, everyone close to Hazel rushes to the infirmary to see how she's doing and if she even got there.

The Apollo campers would only let Frank in to visit Hazel, because he's her boyfriend, but they did patch Will and me up first. Straight after they'd finished, they dismissed us so we didn't get in the way while they tried to heal her.

Frank comes out the tent, tears running down his face in rivers, his eyes red. We all stare at him, knowing what he'll say but waiting for confirmation. He slightly shakes his head before saying through a hoarse cracked voice, "She's gone."


	8. 8 The Funeral and Christmas

**A/N omg i'm sosososoooooooo sorry this took so long to write, i was just reading blood of olympus, then it was the holiday, and i had to do a lot of reasearch for the funeral. i should stop making excuses. it's here. btw there may be (i think 3?) BoO spoilers in this, but only one of them is really at all big, and it's in the end paragraph, so, heads up. also, i'm gonna keep with the backstory i've already had, so i'm not changing it because of BoO. (and this may turn slightly solangelo because i've started shipping them :s) anyway, sorry this took so long and here it is :)**

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><p>I read through my eulogy one more time before leaving my cabin to find Nico, ho said (by 'doctor's orders' from Will) that he would shadow travel the four of us (me, Leo, Piper and Jason) to camp Jupiter for the funeral. It takes slightly longer because of my dyslexia. My friends are standing in the centre of the 'u' shape between the cabins of the 12 Olympians. I have to admit, I am a little scared right now. I <em>really <em>don't want Nico to blame me for another of his sisters' deaths. But, when I reach him, he just gives me a teary smile and holds out his hand. We all put our hands in the centre of our self-formed circle.

The experience is, as always, horrible. And, as with the time before, it feels as though my face is being peeled off. When we finally get to camp Jupiter, Nico almost collapses from the fatigue, but Piper and Jason catch him and he's just about okay. We land at the top of the hill, which is usually where fauns spend their time, so we make our way down to New Rome, where the funeral starts. We didn't bring any weapons, so are barely nagged by terminus, and walk straight to the forum.

People are already gathering at the centre of the forum, which is where we will give our eulogies before heading to the cemetery to bury the coffin.

A large crowd has already gathered and, as she sees us, Reyna announces that the funeral is about to start. My insides boil as I see her walk down the stairs of the pedestal into a comforting hug, both to and from, Annabeth.

Frank walks up to and climbs the stairs. I can tell he's stricken with grief, but is trying to keep a brave face on. He clears his throat and begins the eulogy.

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><p>After a few more eulogies, as well as my own, the group starts to walk solemnly to the cemetery, the coffin being carried in front.<p>

When we get to the readily dug grave, the crowd re-forms in a way that I'm standing at the front.

The coffin is black with a bouquet of mint leaves and white flowers with red streaks, asphodel, I think they're called; the sacred plants of Pluto, Hazel's dad. As well as this, it has a funeral shroud like the ones from Camp Half-Blood on it. It's black with a white monochrome picture of the helm of darkness.

A few camp Jupiter kids I recognise, but don't know the names of, then lower the coffin into the ground. I can't help but blame myself for this. Hades, well, _Pluto, _is going to hate me even more now.

I look at Nico, his face soaked with tears. His hair is greasy, probably from stress and grief. I can't help but feel like _I _did this to him.

_Me._

The crowd disperses as the coffin is covered with dirt.

In ancient Rome, they would've had a sacrifice now, or a gladiator fight. But in new Rome they just have a feast and scrape a bit of their meal to the fire for the goddess of agriculture, Ceres.

I don't feel much like eating so I just get some food to burn and make condolences to the other people who knew Hazel.

* * *

><p>After the funeral finishes, I go back to camp to get my stuff together and pack to go to my mum's apartment for Christmas.<p>

I pack the clothes I brought to camp as well as riptide and the presents for Mum and Paul.

On Christmas day, when I get to my mum's apartment, I knock on the door; a gesture which is immediately followed by my mum answering the door and giving me a hug so tight I can't breathe.

"I've missed you _so _much!" she says, the last time we'd seen each other being the end of the summer, just after my friends and I defeated Gaia. "Paul, he's here!" she calls and guides me into the living room.

Paul is wearing one of those paper Christmas crown things and holding what I assume is my present, wrapped in red wrapping paper with little Santas saying "ho, ho, ho." On it. "Merry Christmas, Percy!" he says, holding the present out to me.

"Thanks," I say, sitting on the couch, already starting to unwrap it without guessing what it is. "Oh, it's a sweater!" I say with fake excitement. The sweater is Christmas tree green with a cartoon Rudolph on it. "Gee, thanks!"

I put it on and reach for my suitcase, containing presents for both mum and Paul. I take Paul's out first, seeing as he gave me my present first. He takes it out of my hands with a, "thanks." And sits next to me on the sofa, unwrapping it murderously. "Game of thrones." He says reading the cover then flicking the book over to read the blurb, quietly muttering while doing so. "Looks good, thank you Percy."

"I got you a few small presents this year." My mum says, "Here's the first."

She hands me the present and I unwrap the snowflake-covered wrapping paper. The first present is a digital alarm clock/ digital radio. The second is a pair of awesome hobbit-foot slippers. Last, she gives me a bag of blue sweets, a sort of tradition since Gabe.

"Thanks mum." I say. "Now for my present for you." I say and take the small turquoise jewellery box containing my mum's present.

"Is it a necklace?" she says, taking it from my hands and lifting the lid. "Ooh!" she exclaims as she realises the oval-shaped necklace is not in fact a necklace, but a locket. It opens into two parts first, one side with the words, "to mum, merry x-mas, from Percy." Etched on it, the other with a small picture of me. She then opens the left side and there are now three pictures, the left of Paul, the middle of mum and the right of me. "Perce, this is amazing!" she says, bringing me into a hug, "thank you!"

That's when we hear a knock from the other side of the front door. "Who could that be?" my mum says and goes to answer it. Though I already know who it is. My dad.

"Hi, Percy!" says Poseidon, "Happy-" he looks at the writing scrawled on his hand, "Christmas!" he says, somehow managing to pronounce it wrong.

"You mean _Christmas?"_ I say, pronouncing it correctly this time.

"Oh, whatever." He replies, "I don't see why you're celebrating a Christian festival if you're not a Christian, anyway."

"I don't know, I just always have, blame my mum." I reply.

"Not right now." He says, "right now, I have a present for you."

"thanks." I say as I take it out of his hand, "a shell? Dad, no offense, but you could have been a bit more imaginative."

"It's not just any shell," he says, "blow it like a horn and you'll find help wherever you are."

"Cool."

Paul walks up behind me, absent-mindedly reading the first few pages of his new book. I look back around my shoulder towards my dad, but he's not there. "Uh, Percy, dinner's ready."

"okay." I say and go to eat.

Sitting down at the simple wooden table in the kitchen, I see an array of typical Christmas food: turkey, stuffing, gravy, *shudder* _Brussels sprouts. _I load my plate with a bit of everything (except the sprouts) while thinking about how Nico suddenly started eating after what happened in the summer. As soon as mum and Paul sit down, I tuck in. I'm glad they haven't brought up the subject of Hazel yet, but I know they will soon.

I've long finished by the time they have, but conversations keep the atmosphere up and mum still hasn't heard all the stories from the summer yet (let alone the ones from the term). She tells me that she's waiting to hear back from a publisher about her book, which she sent to them at the beginning of the month.

We watch the film _Elf _and talk some more until it's time for bed, at which point mum takes me aside and whispers, "I'm sorry about your friend Hazel."

I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. Strangely enough, I have no dreams.

On Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, we put our new presents in the places they will now live, which are usually boxes, hence the name. Or that's what I think it is, anyway, I'm not sure on the actual reason for the name. I get up at 9 am and pour myself a bowl of the supermarket-brand cereal my mum gets to save money, with semi-skimmed milk.

After breakfast, I get dressed into some blue jeans and a turquoise t-shirt (seeing as I'm not at camp) and head into the living room to help mum and Paul tidy. But mum's the only one there. She's wearing a ¾ length red sweater with navy blue jeans and the locket I gave her.

"Paul's having a lie-in." She says, "He stayed up late reading that book you got him. He's hooked!"

"I'm glad he's making use of it." I reply with a smile and help mum put wrapping paper in the bin.

While Mum and I were making cold turkey sandwiches for lunch, Paul walks in, still in his pyjamas, to help put stuff away, but by then we've already done.

"Rise and shine, sleepy head." My mum says before giving him a quick peck on the cheek. He replies with a smile.

"I hear you like the book I got you." I say and take a bite of my sandwich.

"Like it?" he says, "I hate to tell you this - spoiler alert an all – but _everybody _dies!"

We finish lunch then hear a horn beeping outside. I look out the window and see Argus waiting outside for me in the strawberry van in a "parking space" out of the way of the New York traffic.

"That's my ride." I say before rushing off to my room to get my stuff together to leave.

Rucksack over my shoulder, I hug my mum and Paul goodbye.

They say cliché stuff like, "I wish you didn't have to go.", "come back soon." And, "did you remember your sword?" and off I go back to camp, where so many of my friends, but also a few of my enemies, died.

As I approach the gates, I see many of the ghosts of my past: when the Minotaur took my mum to the underworld, the war between the Greeks and Romans (which ended up being the war between the Greeks and Romans and the monsters Octavian hired, if that's the word), Thalia waking up from her five-year nap as a tree. Some good, some bad, some haven't even happened yet. The ones that haven't happened yet are the ones in my future, the ones still to come. Like when I comfort Nico about Hazel, when I tell him for the first time that I love him, too.

When we kiss completely sober.

What, did I just say that out loud?


	9. 9 I swear we weren't screwing

After all that's happened, I'm finally back in my room in cabin 3. I struggle to get to sleep, but once I am (at roughly 2 am); the sleep is deep and welcoming. I guess that's why it takes me a while to notice the sobbing noise... wait, sobbing noise? I open my eyes and see a dark figure hunched over the side of my bed. I turn on the bedside light.

"Nico," I say quietly, sitting up. He glances up at me, a shaken expression on his face. "I'm sor-"  
>"Percy, I don't blame you, and to be honest, I didn't blame you for Bianca. It was my fault, what happened to Hazel, if I hadn't been so <em>wasted <em>I'd've been able to fight the chimera myself. I'd-I'd've been able to save her." He rants groggily, "but don't you think it's kind of ironic that she went to Italy and Greece-where its infested with monsters- to come back and save the world, literally from the earth, only die because of a stupid little chimera?" he says, basically all in one breath. It takes me a few seconds to realise the question wasn't rhetorical.

"None of us were really prepared that night, Nico; it was just as much my fault as it was yours. No one blames you for what happened." I try to reassure him.

"No you don't _get _it. _I _lost another sister. Not _you_. _I _blame me. Why can't you just understand that?"

"I do" I whisper under my breath so quiet I don't think he heard me and turn around so he doesn't see me blink the tear out of my eye. We both stay quiet for a while.

"I'm sorry, Percy." He finally says, "The reason I came to you, not anyone else, is that... Hazel isn't the only thing I remember from that night." He starts to get up to walk out.

"Nico, wait." I say. "Harpies...remember?"

"I can't shadow travel, can I? I did that to get here." He mimics Will's voice, "No more than one bit of underworldy stuff a day, _doctor's orders!"_

"You could... stay here?"

"There are no spare beds, they were all given to the new cabins to save money, remember?"

"We could share?"

He looks like he wants to protest for a moment, then gives in and crawls under the duvet, not even trying to keep any distance between the two of us. An inkling of a smile creeps on to my face, and I suspect one creeps onto his, too.

I probably sleep a few hours before I wake up. Nico is already rushing about, trying to find a way to leave without being seen.

"'morning." I say.

"I need to get out, I can't be here, people will see."

"If you don't remember, we were very public that night." I reply, "Everyone already knows."

"Perhaps, but we'd still be in trouble if they thought... we'd...you know." He peeks out the window in a way that means he can see if anyone's there, but if there was, they wouldn't see him. By the look on his face, there's no one there.

"Had sex?" I ask, "The rule's boys and girls."

"The rule's no sex." He says, "Or at least that was the idea when they made it. Got any ideas of how I can _get out of here without being seen?"_

I pause to think, "I'll leave now, then I'll come back in a few minutes, then we can leave later at about the same time so it looks like you just visited. Sound like a plan?"

He nods, "okay."

"See you in ten minutes, then. And don't worry so much." I leave, closing the door behind me.


End file.
